Shaft sinking apparatus



Aug. 10, 19 4 3.

' J. M. RIDDELL SHAFT SINKING APPARATUS 3 She ets-Sheet 1 Filed July 30, 1942 N l/EN TOE J-OSEPH Mame: YAIDDELL fl- 1943- J. M. RIDDELL 2,326,172

SHAFT SINKING APPARATUS Filed July 30, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 86 74- 5 ATTORNEYS Aug. 10, 1943.

SHAFT SINKING J. M. RIDDELL Filed July 30, 1942 APPARATUS I s Sheets-Sheet s Patented Aug. 10, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for mucking while sinking mine shafts and particularly to operator-controlled, power-operated mucking machine for enabling rapid and economical excavation of the blasted material at the bottom of mine shafts during the shaft sinking operations.

Heretofore the sinking of mine shafts has been accomplished, in a vast majority of cases, by the exceedingly slow, laborious, and costly method of hand shovelling. This involved (a) drilling, (b)

blasting, (c) placing the permanent sets, and (d) hand mucking, which is repeated over and over until the mine shaft has been sunk to a sufficient depth.

The mucking operation was done under the worst possible conditions, viz., digging downwardly by hand in the loose layer of blasted rock with no even bottom on which to work and in restricted quarters.

There have been a few attempts to utilize machines in shaft sinking, but on the whole these have been so cumbersome and costly that slight operational advantages have been outweighed by the cost and cumbersomeness of the machines.

It is an object of the present invention to pro- 2 vide improved shaft sinking equipment capable of substantial decreases in the time and labor costs of shaft sinking. Another object is the provision of a simplified equipment which may easily be built at low costfrom readily available materials.

Other and further objects of the invention are those inherent in the invention herein illustrated, described and claimed.

The invention is illustrated in the drawings wherein the same numerals denote the same parts, and wherein Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a mine shaft in the course of being sunk, illustrating the old way of accomplishing this result.

Figure 2 is a similar vertical longitudinal sectional view, illustrating a mine shaft in the course of being sunk by use of the invention herein illustrated, described and claimed.

Figure 3 is an enlarged plan view of the shaft sinking apparatus.

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical side view partly in section along the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a plan view of a modified form of the invention adapted for mine shafts of circular cross-section.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view partly in section along the line 1-1 of Figure 6.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 illustrates the old apparatus and method conventionally used for sinking a mine shaft. In this figure the ground level is shown at In and the mine shaft is sunk thru the overlying surface burden to the level II, and is walled with concrete or timber i2 so as to prevent caving. Into the concrete, or timber, there are set a plurality of identical rectangular frames or sets l5 of steel or timber. The sets i5 have shapes corresponding to the rectangular figure of the. shaft being sunk and are placed from top to bottom of the shaft as the sinking of the mine shaft progresses.

Adjacent sets i5 are fastened to each other by short vertical studdles I6 which are fastened to the sets l5 by riveting, welding, or bolting to splice bars and to sets i5 in any convenient manner, the method of fastening used being dependent upon the material used and upon the apparatus available. Below the surface over burden the mine shaft is sunk thru rock I8 by a process consisting of 4 steps as follows:

(a) Assuming that all loose blasted rock has been mucked and hoisted to the surface, the first step is to drill a plurality of blast holes 20 in the rock bottom of the mine shaft in accordance with a suitable blasting pattern.

(b) The blasting charge is then placed, and after removal or elevation of the working equipment from the bottom of the mine shaft the blast is detonated. This results in fragmenting and loosening the blasted material so that it occupies a layer from line 2| at the bottom of the blast holes to lines 23, representing the top of the blasted rock layer.

(0) Then a permanent'set i5 may be placed below the lowermost set and attached in place by bolts or other suitable fastening means. (d) Then the loose blasted rock is shovelled into a hoisting bucket 26 by hand as illustrated by the workman 21 who uses the hand shovel 28. There may be a plurality of workmen but the area of the bottom of the mine shaft is relatively small and therefore only a limited number of workmen can conveniently work in the restricted space. When the bucket 26 is full, it is hoisted to the surface by hoisting cable 24 which operates over the sheave 28 mounted on tipple 29 which may be'of any suitable construction.

According to this conventional method of sinking mine shafts, 40 to of the time in the operations above noted is used in shovelling the loose blasted rock and hoisting the rock to the surface. The shovelling is done under the very worst conditions due to the fact the workmen must shovel down thru the pile of loose rock and because there is no solid smooth bottom on which the workmen may do the shovelling. As a consequence, the sinking of mine shafts ha been an expensive procedure, and altho various mechanical expedients have been devised to facilitate the removal of the blasted rock, such equipment has not been successful, due partly to the complexity of the devices involved and the unsatisfactory nature of the equipment used.

According to the present invention the removal of the blasted rock is accomplished by a poweroperated mucking machine illustrated in Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5 for the rectangular mine shaft, and in Figures 6 and 7 for the circular mine shaft.

Referring to Figures 2 thru 5, l5 designates lower-most permanent set, represents splice bars, and I6 represents the lower-most permanent studdle connecting the lowest permanent set I5 with the next higher set. These portions of the framing may be of wood or metal, and are placed as the mine shaft is sunk and remain in place when the job is completed. Below the lowest permanent set l5 there is positioned a temporary set generally designated 38 which may conveniently be composed of standard railroad rail sections. The side frames of the lower temporary set 38 are designated 3| and 32, while the end members are 33 and 34. These are fastened together in any suitable manner as, for

example, by welding or bolting; and may be stiffened by channel irons 35 and 36 if desired. It will be understood, of course, that shapes other than railroad rail sections may be utilized for this purpose but; rail shapes may usually be obtained locally at low cost and their use is recommended.

The temporary set 38 is arranged to be supported from the permanent set l5 by temporary studdles 48 at each of the corners of the temporary set. The studdles 48 are conveniently made in angle iron shapes, and are provided with holes at the upper end for temporarily bolting them to the splice bars H.

In addition, as illustrated in Figure 2, there is provided a plurality of hoisting devices 45 and 46 which may conveniently be differential chain blocks positioned at the corners orends of the temporary set. These hoists 45 and 46 are connected at their upper ends to the permanent studdles or to the permanent sets and at the lower end to the temporary set 38 or temporary studdles 48. When it is desired to lower the temporary set 38 the temporary bolts between temporary studdles and splice bar H are removed, and the hoists 45 and 46 are lowered in a direction so as to provide space below the lower-most permanent set l5, for another permanent set l5 which thereupon becomes the lower-most permanent set. Thereupon the temporary set 38 is again supported by temporarily bolting the temporary studdles 40 and the splice bars ll just placed. If desired, the main hoisting cable 24 may be attached temporarily to the set 38 to allow lowering to a new level.

The temporary set 38 may, if desired, be made of a size slightly smaller than the permanent set so as to be capable of being lifted in the level position upwardly within the confines of the sets l5 and studdles l6. porary set 38 may be suspended at the corners by cables or chains attached to the permanent sets above, or the cables may be run to the surface.

If desired. also, the tem-.

able elevation above the bottom, as during severe blasting, or for removal at the end of the operations and for lowering during working operations.

The side frame members 3| and 32 of temporary set 38 form a trackway upon which there travels a car generally designated 59. The car 58 comprises a plurality of cross-frame members 5| and 52 and hangers 53 at each end thereof extending upwardly around the outside of the side frame members 3| and 32. The upper ends of the hangers 53 are bent a illustrated at 55 and receive angle brackets 56, which are bolted in place with the angle bracket 58 by means of bolts 68. The angle brackets 56 and the hangers 53 are provided with bearings 62, 63, 64, and 65 thru which axle shaft 68 extends. Upon the ends of the shaft 68 there is positioned wheels 13 and 14 which are spaced so as to roll along the side frame member 3| and 32.

Upon one end of the shaft 68 there is posi- I tioned a chain sprocket 18 upon which the chain 1| operates. Chain II also runs on the drive sprocket 88 of a motor 82, which may either be a reversible air motor or a reversible electric motor. A convenient operator control is illustrated at 83 so that the operator positioned on the car 58 may control the motor 82 to afford propulsion of the car 58 to the right or to the left (as hown in Figures 2, 3, and 4) as desired.

At the opposite side of the car there are additional hangers 85 similar to those shown at 53 and upon the hangers 85 there are mounted a run to the surface or not, may operate as a hois for withdrawing the temporary set to a considerpair of wheels 86 which are rotatable upon stub axles 87. The hangers 53 are stiffened by the brace rod 67 and hangers are likewise stiffened by the brace rod 88. Accordingly as the operator manipulates the control 83 the car may remain at rest or may be propelled to the right or to the left.

Upon the central portion of the car there are mounted a plurality of hoisting machines generally designated 98 and 9| which may be either of the air driven or electrical motor driven type, and provided with operator controls 96 and 9'! respectively. The hoisting drums provide winding spaces for hoisting cables 92 and 93 which serve as suspension and operating cables for the clam shell bucket generally designated I08. If desired, the three controls 83, 96 and 91 may be brought to a central control position by suitable mechanical, electrical or pneumatic connections, and the central control position may be on the car 58, above the car on a perch fastened to the permanent framing l5, or below the car in a position to be operated by a workman at the mucking level.

The clam shell bucket is preferably mounted so that it is suspended along approximately the central line of the rectangular shaft and the bucket is of sufficient size that when open it has a reach from line |8| to I82, as illustrated in Figure 5, the reach preferably being between '50 and 75% of the width of the rectangular rial between either line |0| or I82 and either adjacent wall will tumble into the central position 'to be caught by the clam shell bucket. For cleaning the corners and sides, an operator at the bottom of the shaft worries the shovel I88 against the side walls and corners of the excavation and, as a result, practically no hand cleaning is required. I

It is to be understood, of course, that during the excavating, the shovel is lowered open and then closed, then hoisted, lifting the load to an elevation above the bucket 28. Then the car 50 is moved sideways until the clam shell, I00, is over the bucket 26, and the load is dumped.

During the time the bucket 26 is resting on the rock heap at the bottom of the excavation, the hoist cable 24 may be looped out of the way as illustrated in Figure 4.

As a result of the improved shaft sinking arrangements, there is a time saving of 25 to 75% of the time involved in mucking the loose blasted rock as comparedwith usual hand methods, and this may beaccomplished with 50 to 75% less labor.

Referring to Figures 6 and 7, there is illustrated an apparatus for sinking of cylindrical mine shafts, i. e., those having a circular cross sectional area.

In this modification the temporary set is in the form of a circular framework I which is suspended by temporary studdles I3I- from the lowermost permanent set. The method and apparatus for fastening, raising and lowering the circular temporary set is the same .as for the rectangular set previously described. Temporary studdles are provided with a lower upturned end as illustrated in Figure '1. The car generally designated I50 is provided with wheels I14 mounted on brackets I15 which extend downwardly inside the temporary set I30. The wheels are mounted upon axles arranged upon diameters passing thru the center of the shaft and circular set I30 so that the car may rotate above the center. Two of the wheels are mounted on a diametrical shaft I80 which passes over the hoisting drums I90 and NI and is arranged to be driven, as in the modification shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5, by means of a reversible air or electrical motor I82. Shaft I80 is in two pieces and these are joined by a reverse gear I18 .so that they rotate with the same speed but in opposite directions. By this arrangement the car platform I50 may be rotated circularly around a vertical axis passing thru the center of the mine shaft, the direction of the rotation being in accordance with the will of the operator.

The two hoisting mechanisms I90 and NH are or may likewise be powered by air or electric motors and arranged for suitable forward, stop, and reverse, local or remote, control by the operator as in the modification of Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5. The drums are positioned so that the clam shell bucket'is normally hoisted approximately midway between the center and the wall 200 so that when open the clam shell bucket will excavate from closely adjacent to the wall to the center of the mine shaft. As the load is taken by the clam shell and hoisted, theflfar I50 is then rotated so as to bring the cla shell over the bucket 26. This can be accomplished by swinging the car in a suitable direction by means of the reversible motor I82, which propels the car with a rotary motion.

Many obvious variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and are intended to be within the purview of the invention herein illustrated, described and claimed.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for sinking mine shafts of rectangular cross-section, having permanent sets spaced vertically in the shaft excavation and connected together by permanent studdles, comprising a temporary set having a peripheral contour like the permanent sets of the mine shaft and having load-bearing rail surfaces spaced alon the opposite sides thereof, disconnectable temporary means for suspending the temporary set in a substantially horizontal plane below the lowermost permanent set, a platform having a length slightly less than the distance across the rectangular mine shaft from one load bearing rail surface to the other, and a width substantiallyless than the other cross-sectional dimension of the mine shaft, wheels on the platform positioned so as to roll upon said rails, reversible operator controlled power means mounted on the platform and connected to wheels thereof for moving the platform sidewise along the rails within the confines of the mine shaft and operator controlled power operated excavating shovel means suspended from the platform.

2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that the power operated shovel comprises reversible operator controlled air-motored clam shell excavating bucket.

3. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that the excavating shovel comprises a clam shell bucket operable along a plane extending across the rectangular mineshaft from one rail surface to the other.

4. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that the excavating shovel comprises a clam shell bucket operable along a plane extending across the rectangular mineshaft from one rail surface to the other, and the clam shell bucket is suspended substantially midway between the rails and when opened has a dimension more than 50% of the distance across ,the mineshaft from one rail to the other.

5. An apparatus for sinking mine shafts of rectangular cross-section, having permanent sets spaced vertically in the shaft excavation and connected together by permanent studdles, comprising a temporary set having a peripheral contour substantially like the permanent sets of the mine substantially less than the other cross-sectional dimension of the mine shaft, wheels on the platform positioned so as to roll upon said rails, reversible operator controlled power means for moving the platform sidewise along the rails within the confines of the mine shaft and operator controlled power operated excavating shovel means suspended from the platform.

JOSEPH MURRAY RIDDELL. 

